Nitin Gadkari attacks Jairam Ramesh's move to converge MNREGA, NBA

New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday targeted yet another initiative taken by his predecessor Jairam Ramesh, saying the previous government's decision to have a convergence between MNREGA and toilet construction programme did not work well.

Speaking at a National Conference on Sanitation and Drinking Water here, the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation also said the current allocation of Rs 10,000 per toilet in rural areas was insufficient and soon the amount would be increased to achieve the real target.

"Convergence between MNREGA and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan has not achieved the desired result," the Minister and indicated that the NDA government will have a relook into it.

His statement came a day after the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation said in a release that the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, launched by the UPA Government in 2012 to eradicate the menace of open defecation in the country, was a "failure".

Speaking separately, Ministry officials blamed the convergence between MNREGA and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), taken during Ramesh's tenure as Rural Development, as reason for slowing down of yearly achievements of construction of toilets.

"Slowing down of yearly achievements was due to convergence of NBA incentive of Rs 4,600 with Rs 5,400 MNREGA incentive, taking total incentive to Rs 10,000.

However, since toilets are not the highest priority under MNREGA, and toilet targets under MNREGA are less than toilet targets under NBA, rural households wait for full 10,000 with MNREGA, thereby dragging down the achievement under NBA," the Ministry said.

Calling for practical approach to achieve the goal of sanitation for all by 2019, Gadkari said, "Rs 10,000 is not a realistic amount for constructing a toilet. This money is not enough. We will provide more fund for constructing toilet".

Lamenting that even after 67 years of Independence, 60 percent people in India defecate in open, Gadkari said that the dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build Swachh Bharat by 2019 will be executed in a mission mode.

He also emphasised that massive funds will be mobilized for this purpose under the leadership of the Prime Minister.